The tentative deal Friday evening between the West Coast longshoremen’s union and terminal operators fundamentally overhauled the arbitration system that had been a major bone of contention and was necessary because resulting port disruption was causing too many innocent victims, Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said in a television interview Monday afternoon. Importers and exporters of all stripes were losing money because of the cargo delays as ports filled to capacity with contai...

Dewayne Gregoire said he was injured in a slip-and-fall accident while working as a tankerman on Enterprise Marine Services’ vessel, Marie . Like many injured seafarers, he chose to file a claim in state court, in this case the 32nd Judicial District Court for the Parish of Terrebonne, La. As attorney Marissa Henderson observed in an article on the case posted on the website of her firm Ventker Warman Henderson, “Ask maritime plaintiffs' attorneys which forum they w...

Oregon’s congressional delegation is urging President Obama to force ocean shipping companies and longshoremen back to regular operational tempo at West Coast ports if they can’t quickly end a labor dispute that has created severe gridlock and cost businesses hundreds of millions of dollars in lost sales, spoilage and extra transport fees. Some members also asked the union and management to agree to binding arbitration, assisted by the federal government. Pacific Northwes...

The U.S. Justice Department’s investigation of price fixing in the roll-on/roll-off shipping industry has resulted in the sentencing of a “K” Line executive to 18 months in a U.S. prison. The sentence, imposed Friday, was the first against an individual in the department's international ro/ro ocean shipping investigation. Previously, three corporations have agreed to plead guilty in charges growing out of the investigation and to pay criminal fines totaling more than $136 millio...

At the very beginning of 2015, I received an email out of the blue from someone suggesting I take a deeper look at a specific freight payment and audit vendor. The email intimated that this particular vendor was failing to make payments to carriers on behalf of its shipper customers. On the surface, that’s the cardinal rule that freight payment and audit providers can’t break. Sort of like a restaurant serving undercooked chicken – it’s almost impossible to recover from those ty...

With hundreds of thousands of containers facing huge delays at West Coast ports in recent months and many companies incurring huge bills for demurrage and detention, a recent 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision is of interest, even if the court has marked it “Not for Publication” and not precedent. ( Elite Logistics Corp. v. Hanjin Shipping Co. Ltd. 9th Circuit. No. 12-56238. Sept. 19, 2014.) The dispute at issue in the case was between Elite, which performed inland trucking, ...

The U.S. Justice Department said the Japanese shipping company NYK has agreed to plead guilty and pay a $59.4 million criminal fine for its involvement in a price-fixing conspiracy for roll-on/roll-off cargo, such as cars and trucks. According to a one-count felony charge filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore, NYK conspired to suppress and eliminate competition by allocating customers and routes, rigging bids and fixing prices for the sale...

Alstom S.A., a French conglomerate with business in power generation and railroad manufacturing, pleaded guilty Monday and agreed to pay a $772.3 million fine to resolve charges related to a widespread scheme to bribe officials in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Taiwan and the Bahamas, the U.S. Department of Justice announced. The fine is more than five times the amount Avon Products was fined last week for similar types of corruption charges and represents the largest fin...

The U.S. International Trade Commission on Monday determined the country’s makers of carbon and certain alloy steel wire rod are harmed by similar imports from China. All six ITC commissioners voted in the affirmative. The Commerce Department had previously said these imports are subsidized by the Chinese government and sold in the United States at less than fair value. As a result of the ITC's affirmative determinations, Commerce will issue both antidu...

German multinational logistics provider Schenker AG has filed lawsuits seeking $2.5 billion in damages from air cargo carriers found guilty by competition authorities around the world of colluding to fix prices, the company recently announced. About $370 million in damages will be sought in the United States and $2.19 billion in Germany, including interest. The U.S. portion could increase to an estimated $1.1 billion if the court awards treble damages in the case. E...

More and more drayage drivers in the Southern California area are joining protests aimed at getting local trucking companies to reclassify them as employees, not independent contractors. But the real action is happening in court rooms throughout the state, and potentially throughout the country. According to Long Beach, Calif.-based trade attorney Cameron Roberts, there has been a cluster of court cases in the last six months that could have a major bearing on wheth...

The White House made a brief comment Tuesday about the ongoing labor talks between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers, stating it is monitoring the negotiations and expressed confidence the two sides will reach a contract agreement. Referring to the contract reached between employers and union dockworkers on the East and Gulf coasts last year, Assistant White House Press Secretary Frank Benenati remarked, “just last year, there was a long negotiation a...

As several container shipping companies have announced surcharges effective Monday related to congestion at U.S. ports on the West Coast, Mario Cordero, chairman of the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, is questioning their ability to impose the surcharge on cargo that has already been accepted for delivery or is in transit. On Friday, the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, whose members include 15 of the largest container carriers moving cargo between the United States and A...

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed this term to hear a case involving a pregnant UPS driver and whether she is entitled to a light-duty assignment under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act even though the company’s collective bargaining agreement does not provide such an accommodation. Peggy Young worked as a driver for UPS. When she became pregnant, her doctor advised that she avoid lifting heavy objects. Her request for a light-duty assignment was denied. &nbs...

In February and April 2011 Kentucky Fuel Corp. entered into contracts with Celtic Marine for the transport of coal by barge from terminals in Kentucky and West Virginia to New Orleans and Darrow, La. James C. Justice Cos. guaranteed obligations KFC owed to Celtic Marine. There were agreements for additional freight and stevedoring, if minimum quantities were not shipped. On Dec. 7, 2011, Celtic filed suit against Justice for breach of the guarantor’s agreements, all...

First State Depository provides shipping and other services for coins and special metals. It shipped product with UPS. Its insurers alleged 27 of First State's shipments worth $150,000 were lost or stolen by UPS or its employees during an eight-week period in 2012. When the insurers brought state law claims against UPS in district court for breach of contract, negligence, negligent supervision of employees, and “true fraudulent conversion,” their amended complaint was dismissed ...

A Teamsters-affiliated group, Justice for Port Truck Drivers , says a port truck driver who allegedly was misclassified as an independent contractor has been awarded $9,000 in unemployment benefits by the California Employment Development Department. The Teamster group said Yesenia Rivas was one of 35 “independent contractor” port truck drivers who participated in recent unfair labor practice strikes and filed “wage and hour” claims with the California Division ...

Former truck driver David R. Nelson of Lucedale, Miss., pleaded guilty in a Georgia district court Tuesday to charges that he bribed employees in the traffic office at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Ga., to obtain lucrative freight-hauling business. While working for Louisville, Ky.-based trucking company, Nelson paid more than $100,000 in bribes between 2006 and 2012 to Albany traffic officials to transport freight from the base to destinations on the West Coast. &n...

A recent decision that affirmed two decisions by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ( Sompo Japan v. Norfolk Southern et al. and Nipponkoa Insurance v. Norfolk Southern, et al. 2nd Cir. Nos. 13–3416, 13–3501. Aug. 6.) are the latest in a line of cases that could make it more difficult for shippers and their insurers to recover in cargo cases. An April 2006 derailment near Dallas destroyed much of a train’s cargo. The shipments originated i...

Port Canaveral required Gulftainer to obtain a U.S. government security clearance as a condition of its lease for operating control of a new container terminal and requested officials conduct a full investigation, rather than a 30-day informal review, to ensure complete transparency, the port’s director said. Furthermore, the Canaveral Port Authority and the United Arab Emirates port operator submitted the application to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, ...

In this decision, a request by the petitioners—a shipper and its insurance company—to have an arbitration award vacated was unsuccessful. ( Zurich American Insurance Co. et ano. v. Team Tankers. S.D.N.Y. No. 13-8404. June 30.) Vinmar International Ltd. chartered space on Eitzen Chemical’s tanker Siteam Explorer , which is managed by Team Tankers on June 10, 2008. The tanker carried 3,500 tons of acrylonitrile (ACN) from Houston to Ulsan, South Korea, where Vinmar planned t...

Econocaribe Consolidators of Miami has filed a complaint against another ocean transportation intermediary, Amoy International of City of Industry, Calif., at the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission, asking for reparations of about $192,811, plus interest and attorneys fees. The non-vessel-operating common carrier claimed Amoy violated the Shipping Act and other laws by misdeclaring goods. According to Econocaribe's complaint, Amoy contracted with it to transpor...

The potential commercialization of AMECS is complicated by a patent infringement dispute between Ruben Garcia and a company called Clean Air Engineering-Maritime Inc., which is conducting a pilot test of a barge-mounted exhaust capture system at the Port of Los Angeles. Clean Air Engineering-Maritime was formally founded in 2009 by Nicholas Tonsich, who served as president of the Los Angeles Harbor Commission for several years last decade. According to documents fro...

On Second Thought with John Tabor April 15 marked an important date in the secure movement of freight around the U.S. Southeast, yet few if anyone in the industry knows what changed on this historic date. On that day, Gov. Nathan Deal of Georgia signed the Georgia Cargo Theft Act into law, which took effect July 1. The law specifies punishments based on the value of stolen freight. It also includes penalties for tampering with the trucks used to move that freight. What’s the big deal you ma...

This decision involves a shipment of clothing moving from China to Mexico that “went missing” along the way. ( U.S. v. C.H. Robinson . Federal Circuit Court of Appeals. No. 13-1168. July 28.) A Mexican company, Intercambio Comercial Ekim, imported the wearing apparel from China via the Port of Los Angeles. C.H. Robinson (CHR), as the bonded carrier, was to transport the merchandise from Los Angeles to L.E. Forwarding & Freight Broker in Laredo, Texas, for export...

James H. Burnley IV, who served as secretary of transportation from 1983 to 1987, has been appointed to the Eno Center for Transportation’s Board of Directors. Burnley is a partner with the law firm Venable LLP, where he concentrates on transportation regulation and legislation.

A recent 2nd Circuit decision could strengthen the hand of shippers or carriers that use derivatives such as forward freight agreements (FFAs) to enforce contracts. ( D’Amico Dry Limited v. Primera Maritime. 2nd Cir. No. 11-3473-cv June 12.) D’Amico operates dry-bulk ships. A slowdown in trade could result in lower rates, fewer voyages, and ships sailing partly empty or even idled. (The cost of maintaining an unemployed panamax dry bulker is about $12,000 per day.) ...

Former “Saturday Night Live” star Tracy Morgan has filed suit against Walmart claiming the retail giant’s negligence led to the June 7 accident on the New Jersey Turnpike in which one of its trucks crashed into the back of a limousine, severely injuring Morgan and killing a fellow comedian. Morgan, who also is known for his role on NBC ’s “30 Rock” series, suffered a broken leg, broken nose and broken ribs. The lawsuit alleges Walmart should have known its driver ha...

Clyde & Co – a global law firm focused on insurance, aviation, energy, infrastructure, natural resources, marine and trade – will open an office in Southern California, headed by Joe Walsh, the company announced Monday. “Opening an office in Orange County is a further step in our expansion in the United States,” Senior Partner James Burns said in a press release. “Our San Francisco office ... focuses primarily on non-marine insurance, aviation and litigation. Through Joe and...

The peril of not declaring the value of cargo in a bill of lading was illustrated in a recent court decision ( Outokumpu Stainless USA v. M/V Vegaland. et al. U.S. District Court, S.D. Texas. No. 13-66. May 13.) that grew out of damage to a piece of equipment for a steel mill during an ocean voyage. Outokumpu Stainless USA, a subsidiary of a Finnish stainless steel maker, purchased a 63-ton tilt drive industrial machine from Siemens-VAI Metal Technologies for install...

The maritime law firm Chalos O'Connor LLP is closing, and its attorneys are moving to larger law firms. K&L Gates announced last week that Michael G. Chalos has joined its New York office as a partner in the maritime practice. Previously the senior partner at Chalos O’Connor, Chalos is accompanied in his move by associates Luke Reid and George Kontakis in the firm’s Boston and New York offices, respectively. Chalos focuses on traditional maritime and criminal en...

The owner of the New Jersey-based freight payment solutions provider TransVantage surrendered to authorities last week in the wake of allegations of financial malfeasance of more than $42 million, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman said. Shirley Sooy, 63, currently of Fort Smith, Ark., surrendered in Newark May 28 to inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation on a criminal complaint charging her with wire fraud conspiracy, wire f...

The U.S. Government Accountability Office on Monday denied a protest by Inchcape Shipping Services of a U.S. Navy contract awarded to MLS-Multinational Logistics Services Ltd. for maritime support services. Inchape had argued that the award was improper because MLS made a key personnel change following the close of discussions and that the award violates the prohibition against contracting with inverted domestic companies. Federal acquisition rules prohibit the award of co...

While not the sole cause, lack of adequate infrastructure to keep up with the rapid growth in container traffic in Latin America is one of the contributing factors to corruption at some of the region’s ports, said Thomaz Favaro, an analyst at the consulting firm Control Risks and co-author with Niels Lindholm of a study released last December, Stuck in the bottleneck: Corruption in Latin America Ports . Some customs officials in the region use delays at ports “to sell a fast tra...

Is an offshore drilling rig — a vessel so large that it cannot pass through the Panama Canal — “merchandise” subject to the Jones Act’s restriction that cargo transported between two domestic points be carried on ships built and registered in the United States and crewed by Americans? Yes, said a federal judge in a recent decision that’s part of an ongoing lawsuit being watched closely by various parties interested in cabotage trades. The decision ( Furie Operating ...

The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division on Monday reached an agreement with Penske Truck Leasing Co. resolving claims that the company violated the 1994 Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) by failing to reemploy and then terminating U.S. Air Force reservist William Mann after his return from required military training with his reserve unit. According to the complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia...

As they negotiate a new labor contract to replace the one that expires July 1, representatives of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific Maritime Association should be thinking about how to make the ports more productive in the long term, industry officials say, and not just about the issues confronting the shipping industry in the next few years. “There are two things at stake in my view. There is the short term ... can we get through this year without dis...

The Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, in a press release issued Tuesday, said that the New York Shipping Association and International Longshoremen’s Association are dedicating most of their efforts to employing and training new workers from their own referrals "to the severe disadvantage of the veterans." The Waterfront Commission pointed to a press release from last October in which it said the “NYSA and ILA touted their dedication and pledged their commitment to hiri...

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said it believes the breakup of the container ship MOL Comfort last year was not the result of the ship’s design or construction. American Shipper asked MHI, whose Nagasaki shipyard built the MOL Comfort , to comment on a lawsuit filed against it by the owner of the ship, Mitsui O.S.K. Line, which is seeking ¥13.8 billion ($135 million) in connection with the ship casualty. The 8,000-TEU MOL Comfort split in two and sank off the coast of...

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) and the owners of seven “C-series” container ships are seeking damages of ¥13.8 billion ($135 million) from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in connection with the MOL Comfort incident. The 8,000-TEU MOL Comfort split in two and sank off the coast of Yemen in June as it sailed from Singapore to Jeddah. There were no injuries to the crew, but both halves of the ship sank and all cargo was lost. MOL filed a lawsuit in February in...

OOO “Garant-S” sued Empire United Lines and Michael Hitrinov, its president and owner, for losses arising from a third-party theft of Garant’s automobiles. Garant purchases used automobiles at auctions held in the United States and exports them to Kotka, Finland, for sale in Russia. Since 2008, Garant engaged Empire, a non-vessel-operating common carrier, to transport hundreds of vehicles per year. In 2010, two of Garant’s BMW vehicles were delivered to Empire's fac...

The Practising Law Institute has published the Maritime Law Answer Book , written by Charlie Papavizas and H. Allen Black. Both are partners at the Washington office of the law firm Winston & Strawn. In their preface, the authors say their aim was to write a book that would be handy for both lawyers and non-lawyers alike, employing a question-and-answer format that the institute has used in a score of titles. The book is organized toward basic communities that c...

Exporters and importers should be developing options to prepare for a possible disruption at West Coast ports this year as the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and employers represented by the Pacific Maritime Association prepare to negotiate a new contract for one that expires July 1, said Peter Friedmann, executive director of the Agriculture Transportation Coalition (AgTC). “Large importers are already developing, testing and implementing alternative routing to U.S...

At a waterfront rally Tuesday, the president of the International Longshoremen's Association along with several business leaders and government officials called for limiting the power of the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor, which is involved in a court battle with the union and employers over its right to regulate hiring on the waterfront. Harold Daggett, the international president of the ILA, spoke to a crowd of several hundred longshoremen, and complained that delay...

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Monday against Con-way Freight, saying the company violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act. Specifically, the DOJ alleged that Con-way did not promptly reassign Naval Reservist Dale Brown to his former position as a driver after he notified the company that he had recovered from a service-related medical disability. However, Con-way has denied the allegations, saying the complaint contain...

The Chilean shipping company CSAV will pay a $625,000 civil penalty under a compromise agreement reached with the Federal Maritime Commission. In addition to its container liner business, CSAV operates roll on/roll off vessels in U.S. inbound and outbound trades, and was alleged to have violated the Shipping Act by acting in concert with other ocean common carriers under unfiled agreements involving shipments of automobiles and other motorized vehicles. The FMC sai...

James McKenna, the president of the Pacific Maritime Association, who will lead negotiations this year for employers on a new contract with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said Tuesday that while negotiations with the union may go past the July 1 expiration date for the current labor pact, he expects an agreement to be reached without a labor stoppage. “I am personally optimistic that we are going to get a contract without disruption,” said McKenna, speaking at ...

Plano Molding designs and manufactures plastic storage boxes, including tackle boxes for fishermen. When it needed steel molds for its Illinois factory it contracted with CMT International, a company that assists American customers that wish to purchase products in Asia. CMT solicited bids from manufacturers, and Plano selected Kunshan, a Chinese company, to fabricate the molds. World Commerce Services was selected to coordinate the transportation. The bill of ladin...

In this decision ( Estes Express Lines v. U.S . Federal Circuit. No. 13-5056. Jan. 3.), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reversed the Court of Federal Claims and remanded a case for further proceedings, siding with a trucker seeking to recover funds from the federal government. Estes Express was seeking to recover freight charges incurred by the Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) and its subsidiary MCX, which provide the Marine equivalent of PXs found on Arm...

Build it and they will come is not a viable strategy for container terminals in the international maritime sector. Ocean terminals are hugely expensive. Banks and investors are unlikely to make loans or deploy capital on the speculative assumption that a good idea for a cargo hub will attract enough business to provide an adequate return on investment. When it comes to greenfield facilities, it’s necessary these days to have agreements in hand from ocean carriers firmly committing themselves...

Korean Air and Singapore Airlines have agreed to pay more than $200 million in a class-action lawsuit stemming from the carriers' price-fixing activities, according to the law firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg. Companies that purchased airfreight services from either airline for shipments within, to or from the United States between the beginning of 2000 and Sept. 11, 2006, can file a claim. The settlement was approved by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern D...

Manuel Benitez, deputy administrator of the Panama Canal Authority (ACP), said Monday he is still hopeful that an agreement can be reached between the canal authority and the contractor group building a new set of locks. Grupo Unidos por el Canal has said it will leave the project if it is not paid back for what it says are $1.6 billion in cost overruns. On Jan. 7, ACP said it would advance the group $100 million and extend an $83 million loan by two months if GUPC commits a fu...

Thomas Weinberg will serve a second term as chairman of the Canaveral Port Authority Board. He began on the board in January 2011 and is a licensed realtor who has held local, state and federal positions. In addition, attorney Jerry Allender will also serve a second term as vice chairman, as will Secretary Treasurer Frank Sullivan, a citrus grower and shipper. Tom Gould has joined Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A., as senior director of customs and international trade. Gou...

The Panama Canal Authority and the consortium building the waterway’s new set of enlarged locks met in Panama City Tuesday to try and resolve the contract rift that has jeopardized the project’s timely completion, with the contractor proposing a new arrangement to jointly finance ongoing construction while claims for cost overruns go through the arbitration process. Grupo Unidos por el Canal, the international consortium in charge of the $3.2 billion lock expansion, said in a s...

As the public dispute over who is responsible for unexpected expenses in building a third set of locks for the Panama Canal continued into its third week, the contractor involved on Monday said its demand to be repaid is not a shakedown of the canal authority for extra money, but a way to jointly bridge the gap until differences can be sorted out in a legal setting. Grupo Unidos por el Canal issued an ultimatum Dec. 30 for the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) to reimburse $1.6 billi...

Car Carriers Investment AS, a 50/50 joint venture between a subsidiary of Klaveness Marine Holding and a subsidiary of J.P Morgan Global Maritime Investment Fund, said it intends to start a voluntary cash offer for all of the shares of Norwegian Car Carriers (NOCC), a company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, at an offer price of 2.17 Norwegian krone (35 cents) per share. It said the offer values the total share capital of NOCC at about 526 million Norwegian krone or $85 ...

Greenfield port plan off Louisiana coast would rely on immigrant investors for funding. An investor group with a unique financing scheme that involves a controversial federal immigration program and wealthy foreigners fronting money for a new deep-water port at the mouth of the Mississippi River in exchange for permanent U.S. residency says the government has now cleared the path for it to start work on the project. Principals involved in the Louisiana International Gulf ...

As China develops interior and urbanizes, its need to improve transport grows. Look for an increase in investment in and acquisitions of logistics companies by the Chinese in coming years, said Richard Gluck, a partner at Washington law firm Garvey, Schubert and Barer (GSB). Gluck is outside general counsel to the Transportation Intermediaries Association (TIA), the largest U.S. trade association for third party logistics companies in the United States. In 2012, TIA and the Chi...